Kookaburras name 22-man squad for Pro League after locking in major sponsorship deal

Australia has reunited brothers in the Kookaburras national team as the men’s hockey outfit countdown to Paris Olympics with a new sponsor and vision for the future.

Josh Beltz will reunite with brother Hayden in the national team for season five of the Pro League. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Hockey Australia has declared its breakthrough sponsorship deal with Kookaburra Sport as the “best brand fit in world sport” as the men’s team named a 22-man squad reuniting the Beltz brothers for its European tour.

The six-month search for a naming rights sponsor was finally concluded on Wednesday when the Kookaburras signed a three-year deal with the cricket, hockey and football goods company.

The deal reunites the two parties after a previous sponsorship, with Australian hockey decades ago asking the sporting goods manufacturer if it could use its intellectual property to name the men’s hockey team the Kookaburras.

The three-year deal will bridge a critical funding gap that has seen the women’s hockey team, the Hockeyroos, at times unable to train together as a full-time centralised training program.

They have also had their training squad cut from 27 to 22 and seen Hockeyroos coach Trinny Powell able to access only one full-time assistant coach after their funding was cut 45 per cent after a quarter-final exit in Tokyo.

Hockey Australia’s deal with mining company Fortescue had ended at the end of 2023, with Kookaburras goalkeeper Andrew Charter writing an emotional post on LinkedIn detailing the lack of a major front-of-jersey sponsor for the first time in 14 years.

Hockey Australia CEO David Pryles was thrilled to lock in the deal. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

The sponsorship revenue will be shared between the men’s and women’s programs with Hockey Australia chief executive David Pryles thrilled with the sponsorship.

“It has been a really long process but we have finally got there,” he said of the deal for the Tokyo silver medallists.

“It’s the best brand fit in world sport. 30 years ago someone in my position (as Hockey Australia boss) asked Kookaburra Sport to use their IP to call the men’s team the Kookaburras and it’s a mutually beneficial partnership.

“It works for us and works for them because they are an Australian brand who sells overseas and in the next 12 months outside of the Olympics we are playing in Argentina, Belgium and England.”

“We have a costly program with full-time coaches, strength and conditioning, performance analysts and dietitians and if we are to compete with the Dutch, Belgians and Germans we have to invest or we are not going to get onto the podium again.”

Hockeyroos Mariah Williams and Great Hayes will also benefit from the deal.

The Kookaburras are strong gold medal contenders in Paris, with head coach Colin Batch naming a 22-man squad for the Pro League Season 5 title in Europe this week.

Hayden Beltz has been part of the Australian development squad at the age of 26 but Batch has elevated him into the touring squad alongside older brother Josh.

Star striker Blake Govers, midfielder Tom Craig and defender Tim Howard all return to the squad after injuries saw them miss the Kookaburras’ five-test clean sweep of India last month.

Midfielder Hayden Beltz only made his national debut last year so was shocked to get the call-up as a perfect chance to audition for the 16-man squad for Paris.

Hayden Beltz made his international debut last year. Picture: Getty Images

“(Batch) pulled me aside at training, which was a bit of a surprise,” Hayden said.

“Normally in the past, it’s been to tell me I haven’t been going. But this time he told me I was selected.

“It was a massive surprise and that’s not to say that I think I’ve been far off the pace, I just think the quality of the squad at the moment is really impressive. I’m super excited and really grateful for the opportunity to play.”

The Kookaburras take on Belgium in the first match of the next leg of the Pro League on May 30 ahead of clashes against Argentina, Great Britain and Germany and currently sit second behind the Netherlands but with four games in hand.

Originally published as Kookaburras name 22-man squad for Pro League after locking in major sponsorship deal